When printing plants and other manufacturing plants use fanfold sheet paper, they often have a need to continuously handle, position and splice sheets. While fanfold sheet is commonly supplied in small cartons of the type an ordinary working person can lift, the industry aim is to efficiently and continuously run printing and finishing machines with minimum operator attention. Generally, a way of fulfilling the aim has been as follows. There is an input feed device, such as a conveyor or static surface, on which the stacks of fanfold sheet are placed, and from which a printing or finishing machine draws the sheet. An operator opens a new carton to expose the full top surface of the fanfold stack within, and pulls out one or more pages from the new stack in the carton, to provide a so-called footer, which is a sheet end suited for attachment to a so-called header from stack which will be processed next. The operator lifts the new carton onto the work surface, with dexterity tips the carton rapidly over so it is upside down and the stack is resting on the conveyor with the footer sticking out from under the stack. The operator removes and discards the carton by lifting it vertically, thus fully exposing the new stack. The operator then places a second stack on the surface in the same manner. The operator then splices the footer sticking out from the first stack to a header, or top-most sheet end, of the second stack. The operator will slide any new stacks in close proximity to the earlier-placed stacks so that the maximum number of stacks can be positioned on the conveyor or table.
While the prior art system is mostly effective, it does require a certain physical strength and dexterity on the part of the operator. Further, the operator may not be adequately motivated, or able, to move a new stack in close proximity to the prior stack. The operator also may also not check the feeder in timely fashion to see if additional stacks ought be added. Thus, a printer or finishing machine being fed several stacks of fanfold pages may run out of sheet to process, and become idle and non-productive.
Although automated input feeders exist, they are typically relatively complex and expensive systems. Of the various types of feeders in commercial use, none seem to adequately lessen the need for either or both of brute force and dexterity on the part of the operator, at a reasonable price.
A further issue in the prior art involves the joining of the header and footer. Typically, fanfold paper will have perforated edges, which are engaged by sprockets on the printing machine being fed. Thus, it is highly desirable that the hole-to-hole spacing across the splice be maintained; and also that the splice joints be secure and consistent, and quickly and easily made. There are, of course, a variety of devices for laying down tape on objects, and undoubtedly devices specialized for making sheet splices. For feeders of the type with which the invention is concerned, it is desirable that the splicer achieve the objects mentioned just above in a simple and effective way.